Cheating the farmer
By: Dr. Satyawan Saurabh
India is an agricultural country. We have been learning this sentence in schools since the first grade, but the question is, does the heart of India really beat with the farmers? Do governments, banking institutions, and economic policymakers respect this agricultural dominance?
Recently, a video from Rajasthan revived this question, where an educated farmer exposes the trick of a private bank, which is being done with lakhs of innocent farmers like him—money is deducted from their Kisan Credit Card (KCC) account in the name of insurance and policies without informing them. This incident is not just of one state but is part of an entire economic exploitation system.
The Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme was launched by the government to provide farmers with affordable credit so that they can meet their farming costs without falling into the trap of moneylenders. The soul of this scheme was easy, transparent, and reliable financial assistance.
But when the same scheme goes into the hands of private banks, they turn it into a marketable product. Farmers are forcibly given life insurance, accident insurance, and sometimes even mobile SIMs or other services in the name of KCC. The cost of all this is deducted directly from their account—without their consent, without their knowledge.
A video recorded by a farmer in Rajasthan unravels the layers of this entire system. The farmer asks the private bank on what authority money was deducted from his account. The bank employees have no clear answer. They talk about the policy but are unable to show any documents of consent. The video clearly shows that this is not a “policy” but meanness. The farmer’s language, confidence, and factual preparation show that if the farmers become aware, this system will not last long.
It is not that only this particular bank is involved in such activities. Many other private banks—and even some cooperative banks—have also been accused by farmers’ organizations.
Thousands of rupees are deducted from the farmers’ accounts every year in the name of insurance. Many times they do not even know that a policy has been started in their name. When they go to the bank to complain, they are either silenced or are told, “This is the rule,” “It is deducted from the system,” or “You signed the form.” Here, signature means a form filled out forcibly, which the farmer is unable to understand.
This question is very important: What are the governments doing about this? Do they not have information that farmers are being cheated by banks? If yes, then why has no strict action been taken till now? Whether it is Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi or loan waiver schemes, all these run in the name of farmers. But when their own money is silently deducted, then why do the same governments become silent? Has the government become a silent partner in this ‘illegal earning’ of private banks?
In recent years, farmers have filed PILs on this issue several times. The High Courts of some states have also paid attention to this, but no concrete policy has emerged at the national level. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued some guidelines, such as adding insurance or any other product only with the explicit permission of the customer, but the ground reality is completely opposite to this.
When an educated customer living in cities goes to the bank, he is told everything related to insurance, policy, and transaction. But when the same bank opens a branch in a village, the books of rules disappear there. Considering the rural customer as ‘weak, illiterate, and naïve,’ the attitude of the banks becomes ‘looting and intimidating.’ This is what we call economic inequality—where there are no facilities, only ‘exploitation’ reaches.
The government should organize digital and banking literacy camps at every panchayat level. It is important to explain to the farmer what he is signing and what its effect will be.
Also, RBI should create an online portal where the farmer can know the reason for every rupee deducted from his account, and he should get the facility to lodge a complaint without going to the bank. If such complaints come from many branches of a bank, then the services related to farmer loans should be banned at that bank. Farmer awareness committees should be formed at the village level, which monitor banking fraud and boycott the bank if needed.
Today, the Indian farmer is not only fighting the weather, the land, and the market, but is also grappling with the hypocrisy of the banks. The banks that once promised to be his financial backbone are now stabbing him in the back. In such a situation, it is important that we are not just surprised by watching the video but adopt the consciousness of the farmer who asks questions, demands answers, and raises his voice for his rights.
The farmer should not be considered just a grain-growing machine. He is also a vigilant citizen. In a country where the budget is prepared in his name, those who empty his pockets cannot be forgiven. “Sanskaar (culture) has taught us to bow down, but not in front of anyone’s arrogance”—do not limit this sentence to just a picture.
This is the real story of the farmers’ struggle. Now the time has come that every farmer, every citizen, every journalist, and every policy maker should understand this—if the farmer’s voice is not heard, then tomorrow the field will go silent and so will the plate.